Mississauga city council approves plan to boost housing supply by building 'up, not out'

Mississauga city council approved a plan on Wednesday to increase the supply of housing, streamline development and approvals, and improve affordability.

Mayor Bonnie Crombie told reporters the plan will enable the city to meet a provincial target of 120,000 new homes in Mississauga over the next decade.

The target for the city is part of the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, recently passed by the Ontario government, which sets a goal of building 1.5 million homes in Ontario in the next 10 years.

"We are entering a new phase in our development where we need to build up, not out," Crombie said. "Our plan lays out a thoughtful and responsible way to accelerate growth and meet the province's targets."

Crombie said Mississauga, home to nearly 800,000 people, is already in demand. She said the city needs to build more homes "responsibly" and it is preparing to welcome tens of thousands of new residents in the coming decades. But the city will not sacrifice its identity and character, she added.

"We will help increase the supply of housing by allowing more density in areas of our city that will be welcoming higher orders of transit, such as communities along the Hazel McCallion LRT, making it easier to build semi-detached triplexes, townhouses, stacked townhouses and garden suites in existing neighbourhoods that will help us accommodate more families, seniors, students and people who want to live and work in our city," she said. 

The plan, Growing Mississauga, has five goals: increasing supply, improving affordability, streamlining approvals, implementing the plan and educating residents. The city says it outlines where private sector and government support is needed to meet the pace of development.

Last year, Mississauga issued more than 6,400 building permits. 

Over the next four years, Crombie said the city will take actions to continue to increase housing supply, such as:

• Reducing exclusionary zoning to allow more semis, duplexes, triplexes, garden suites and garage conversions without special zoning permissions in low density areas.
• Creating opportunities for new residential housing in employment areas.
• Implementing zoning permissions for the future redevelopment to create new mixed-use communities.
• Encouraging more transit-oriented development by enacting updated zoning policies for what are known as "Major Transit Station Areas."

The city says residents will have the chance to learn more and share their thoughts through information sessions and online discussions.